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Monday, January 9, 2012

Sunday Dinner Roast Beef

Sunday dinner is a big deal for our family. It is the biggest meal of the week, and Sunday dinner isn't just defined by the day the dinner falls on. Sunday dinner doesn't have to be on Sunday, and it doesn't have to be at dinner (its almost always lunch!) Sunday dinner is when lots of family comes over and we have Roast Beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, green vegetable, yellow vegetable, corn, fresh greens, fresh fruits and a dessert. That's how my mom did it, and that is how I do it. Every week. My parents come, my grandma, and my sister and her family. They don't even wait for an invite. They just come. Often times I have a brother or two call and invite themselves. We get home from church and before I even kick off my heels, I get the water boiling for the potatoes, and divide out the work for the kids. Of course, the Roast Beef has already been braising in the oven for hours, its the first thing you smell when you come in from the garage. It is the signal that Sunday Dinner is near!

Table for two by the fire please! Alta and Lilli make their Sunday dinner special.

The most wonderful part of Roast Beef is that the leftovers ( if there ever is any) can be used for so many other great meals! I always make two, not only to feed the potential last second guests but to have some leftover meat for a another meal later in the week! The possibilities are endless. Stay tuned for more ideas.

A good roast beef is first browned, then cooked low and slow so it is tender, moist and just falls apart. Because you cook it slow, you can use a less expensive cut of beef. Look for a chuck roast, or a top sirlion roast, top round roast, or any roast that is under 4.00$ a pound. An expensive cut of beef, like rib eye roast, tenderloin roast, or prime rib should never be cooked low and slow, that would be a waste! They should be cooked rare!

Every year I buy a half a cow and store it in my freezer. I STRONGLY encourage this. First, you will save money. Generally speaking, will get all the cuts of beef (steaks, roasts, etc) for the price of ground beef. Second, you can get grass feed beef which is 10X HEALTHIER for you than corn fed cow. Third, you are supporting local farmers, and eating grass fed cows is better for the environment. Even though the farm I get my cow from isn't organic certified, these cows are pretty dang organic they are just eating the grass I am driving by every day on the way home. I even get to say to my kids, "look, there is dinner!"

Give yourself a minimum of 4 hours to cook a thawed out roast. If it is frozen, give yourself 6. I usually cook my thawed out roasts for 6 hours. Here is where many people say, "what about a crock pot?" I say that crock pots are fine, but not my first choice. Here is why, crock pots don't brown food. Even if you brown it before you put it in the crock pot, it won't continue to brown in the slow cooker. One of my biggest rules is COLOR IS FLAVOR!

How to Cook a Sunday Dinner Roast Beef:

Step 1:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the roast fat side down in a heavy pot that has a lid. (I think a professional chef would say fat side up, but I like the meat to get brown, not the fat, plus the fat will melt and be in the braising liquid). Salt and pepper the heck out of it. Salt it like it is snowing, don't be shy. Place in the hot oven to brown for about 45-60 minutes.

Step : 2

Once the meat is nice and brown and there are dark drippings at the bottom, remove from the oven.

Cover the pot with a lid and return to the oven. Reduce the heat. For a 3 hr cook time, reduce to 325 degrees. 4 hour cook time--300 degrees. 5-6 hour cook time-- 275 degrees. I have even cooked a roast for 12 + hours at 180 degrees. The time can pretty forgiving. The more it cooks, the more tender it becomes.

I never comment on blogs but you must know that I've been making pot roast for years and yours blows them all out of the water. Absolute perfection. I'm sure you're too busy to blog these days but at least please don't ever delete this blog!